28. 1. – 04. 03. 2022

The photo series Space (2017-2020) is the latest work by Balázs Deim, completed in 2019. Combining the realms of sensory perception, imagination, and personal memories, the project reevaluates everyday objects and places so that they appear as evidence of space travel. At the same time, the signs of everydayness and the original functions of the objects are not hidden. Thus, images of space created from simple objects are recontextualized as documentation of a private, inner journey.

The project connects the concept of játék (meaning play, game, toy) with the phenomena of nostalgia and wanderlust. The images activate several layers of interpretation of the concept, ranging from toys, the act of playing and the child’s universe to the creative process of experimentation, which is very characteristic of Balázs Deim’s works. On the one hand, the photographs point towards infinity with the childlike curiosity about the universe and the constant desire to discover the unknown. On the other hand, they turn with nostalgia to the past, from which moments and places buried deep in the subconscious emerge, such as the real or imagined memory of a playground, the image of an old magazine or a newsreel from the Cold War era. Some images serve as homages to photographers who influenced Balázs Deim’s perspective. Subtitled “Flashback,” the pieces in this selection cite works by Imre Drégely and Gábor Kerekes.

Balázs Deim (1987) represents a younger generation of Hungarian photographers. In his work he focuses on the relationship between people, objects and the (urban) environment. He mainly explores concepts such as absence, memory, control and truth in photography.
He graduated from Kaspovár University in Hungary in 2013 with a degree in BA photography and has exhibited his work in several group and solo exhibitions in Hungary and abroad. Deim is also the first place winner of the Different Worlds 2018 photography competition. In 2019, he exhibited his Space series in Budapest (B32 Gallery), Rovinj (Rovinj Photodays), Ljubljana (Balassi Institute), Rome (Szentendre’s Exhibition, Via dei Cappellari) and in Berlin with Imre Drégely (Collegium Hungaricum Berlin). He currently lives and works in Budapest.